Mike Hopkins to the Phoenix Suns

[Newhouser]

Hop will be a head coach wherever he winds up next, if things don't work out at Washington.
Many, many people would love to have him as their head coach. No question about it.
As you said, he won Coach of the Year in a P5 conference in his first 2 years as a head coach. There is no question about his ability.

That is an interesting question - wonder what level he would re-surface at? They are looking at single digit wins. He'd have to start in non-P5 or you think he would get another job right away? 2 COY honors sort of wiped out by more recent last place finishes. It will be interesting to see if it happens.

 

[Newhouser]

You guys had the number 1 pick in the draft in Markelle Fultz and went 9-22 and 2-16 in conference play.

This year’s team isn’t even the worst Washington team in the last 5 years.

But did they have 3 draft picks on the roster in the 9-22 year?

 

[cuseinseattle]

You guys had the number 1 pick in the draft in Markelle Fultz and went 9-22 and 2-16 in conference play.

This year’s team isn’t even the worst Washington team in the last 5 years.

LOL

 

[UpstateSM]

Washington had two first round picks last year and stunk and is god awful this year. Its okay to say Hopkins is trending down there. That doesn’t mean he can’t turn it around.

Some of you guys go to bat harder for Hop than you do for our current players and coaches LMAO

 

[cuseinseattle]

We love Hop here on this board, that's pretty obvious.

They just lost to Montana. UW STINKS.

If we lost to NE yesterday we'd call for Boeheim's head. We'd settle down ... but not if we were staring a 1-5 record in the face.

Hop's not gonna last long at UW if something doesn't change. Not sure why that's so crazy to say

The problem with this is you are comparing two different programs. UW has never been good and alumni don't care. If we list to NE people would not be calling for boeheim to be forced out

 

[UnknownOrange]

The problem with this is you are comparing two different programs. UW has never been good and alumni don't care. If we list to NE people would not be calling for boeheim to be forced out

I meant it like there would be the overreactions if we did, then we'd calm down, but not if we were 1-5. If this current SU team was 1-5 there would absolutely be calls for him to go. Of course our program has higher expectations but I just don't see Hop lasting there if he doesn't improve and fast

 

[cuseinseattle]

I meant it like there would be the overreactions if we did, then we'd calm down, but not if we were 1-5. If this current SU team was 1-5 there would absolutely be calls for him to go. Of course our program has higher expectations but I just don't see Hop lasting there if he doesn't improve and fast

He signed a 6 year contract last year

 

[UnknownOrange]

He signed a 6 year contract last year

And?

 

[OttosDad]

He signed a 6 year contract last year

So hes got at least 1 more year then IMO. More likely 2.

I'm not sure I would want Hop as the head man. He's a great recruiter though.

 

[Cuse Action]

I don’t think you understand how hard it is to win playing in a crappy conference with a team with little tradition. Hop has two great years (for UW), one average one, and you want to dump him?

Wow, you know nothing about basketball. Just what I would expect for a fan of a program like yours.

Why so harsh?

 

[jgeorge322]

Hop would do well at cuse. But the situation in uw is bad. You could see it coming last year when they had no recruits.

If Isaiah Stewart came to cuse, we probably wouldve been a top ten team last year.

 

[shandeezy7]

I'm having trouble finding anything inaccurate in HuskyHooper's last couple of posts. Why is he being piled on? The state of the UW program looks absolutely abysmal right now. The way things look now, it will be shocking if they win double digit game this year. Their recruiting looks horrendous currently, so there isn't anything you can point to in the future as a sign that things will change. I think it's possible that Hop turns things around, but it's just as possible - or perhaps even likely - that the whole thing craters.

 

[IthacaMatt]

That is an interesting question - wonder what level he would re-surface at? They are looking at single digit wins. He'd have to start in non-P5 or you think he would get another job right away? 2 COY honors sort of wiped out by more recent last place finishes. It will be interesting to see if it happens.

I would say he is a great choice for a G5 school. Get him back to his East Coast & AAU ties. He'll be killing it at someplace in no time. I could see him at Cincinnati, UConn (argh!), Providence, Georgetown (argh!), Seton Hall - a school like that.

And if Jay Wright, who is around 60, decides that he has done enough at Villanova and wants to try the NBA before he retires, who would be a better choice there than Mike?

 

[IthacaMatt]

Why so harsh?

Because how many times has Washington had a Coach of the Year in basketball?
Success is built over time.

 

[sutomcat]

Why so harsh?

He attacked Hop. Hop is my guy.

 

[CuseFaninVT]

Hop would do well at cuse. But the situation in uw is bad. You could see it coming last year when they had no recruits.

If Isaiah Stewart came to cuse, we probably wouldve been a top ten team last year.

Nahh. He wouldn't have been passed the ball and if he missed one corner three rotation, he'd be seeing the bench for months.

 

[HuskyHooper]

You guys had the number 1 pick in the draft in Markelle Fultz and went 9-22 and 2-16 in conference play.

This year’s team isn’t even the worst Washington team in the last 5 years.

That was a terrible season. This year could rival it. At least there were bright spots on that roster. But look at the year before and after the Fultz season, UW was at least competitive. Only once in Romar’s entire time at UW did he have back to back seasons under .500 in conference, and those teams were barely under .500. Hop is bottoming out much worst than Romar. 5-12 in conference last season, likely worst this season. And most likely will do it three seasons in a row.

We can try to justify Hop and UW’s lack of success, but just go through the history of the program, Hop is doing much worst than Romar, and that says a lot.

 

[IthacaBarrel]

I would say he is a great choice for a G5 school. Get him back to his East Coast & AAU ties. He'll be killing it at someplace in no time. I could see him at Cincinnati, UConn (argh!), Providence, Georgetown (argh!), Seton Hall - a school like that.

And if Jay Wright, who is around 60, decides that he has done enough at Villanova and wants to try the NBA before he retires, who would be a better choice there than Mike?

no school of that stature is hiring Hop after the past 2 years. He will have to go to a Buffalo, Albany or Siena or a smaller school on the west coast and earn it the hard way. he has 5 more years on his contract, he will get at least one more year after this if not 2. unless an alumni wants to pay it off which I highly doubt. He had a dysfunctional team last year and stunk but he had a lot of talent. I wouldn’t rule Hop out, he might get it turned around.

UW could just be really tough place to be successful kind of like Syracuse football. Is BC hoops like UW hoops? Seems like they should be good but always stink

 

[IthacaMatt]

no school of that stature is hiring Hop after the past 2 years. He will have to go to a Buffalo, Albany or Siena or a smaller school on the west coast and earn it the hard way. he has 5 more years on his contract, he will get at least one more year after this if not 2. unless an alumni wants to pay it off which I highly doubt. He had a dysfunctional team last year and stunk but he had a lot of talent. I wouldn’t rule Hop out, he might get it turned around.

UW could just be really tough place to be successful kind of like Syracuse football. Is BC hoops like UW hoops? Seems like they should be good but always stink

I agree about Siena. If you want to go down a level and don't think he can get a Big East job, there are also teams like Iona, Temple, George Washington, Dayton, UMass, or one of those Philly schools like LaSalle or St. Joe's are all better choices than going to a SUNY school.
He'll never have to stoop that low, sorry.

 

[HuskyHooper]

Any coach who gets fired usually has to either work his way back up the ranks or take a year or two off. No P5 school hires a fired coach right away. I think if he gets fired he probably goes to a smaller school.

Hope he turns it around but I don’t see it. With Romar, you could always point to next years class. The year he got fired I think UW had a top 5 class with Michael Porter Jr. Can’t say that about Hop, recruiting by him has been poor outside of last season.

 

[Sherman20]

But what about the class for next year? How many recruits have been signed?

They have a top 50 recruit coming in.

 

[HuskyHooper]

They have a top 50 recruit coming in.

Jackson Grant should be really good, but Hop had no recruits for 2020, and Grant is the only guy signed for 2021. Recipe for disaster with going this route. Hop settled for transfers and they haven’t really worked out.

Hops other issue is that guys aren’t developing under him. Wasn’t Wright POY in your state of NY? He is basically a 5 ppg guy who shoots in the low 30%, as a senior. Bey was POY in Nevada and he looks worst now than when he got here.
If you think the team is bad now, just wait til Green leaves.

 

[Sherman20]

no school of that stature is hiring Hop after the past 2 years. He will have to go to a Buffalo, Albany or Siena or a smaller school on the west coast and earn it the hard way. he has 5 more years on his contract, he will get at least one more year after this if not 2. unless an alumni wants to pay it off which I highly doubt. He had a dysfunctional team last year and stunk but he had a lot of talent. I wouldn’t rule Hop out, he might get it turned around.

UW could just be really tough place to be successful kind of like Syracuse football. Is BC hoops like UW hoops? Seems like they should be good but always stink

Yea, if he loses his job at UW, he’ll find a good mid major job on the east coast where he has great connections and can rebuild his career. I still believe he’ll be a successful head coach, maybe even at SU one day.

 

[Sherman20]

Jackson Grant should be really good, but Hop had no recruits for 2020, and Grant is the only guy signed for 2021. Recipe for disaster with going this route. Hop settled for transfers and they haven’t really worked out.

Hops other issue is that guys aren’t developing under him. Wasn’t Wright POY in your state of NY? He is basically a 5 ppg guy who shoots in the low 30%, as a senior. Bey was POY in Nevada and he looks worst now than when he got here.
If you think the team is bad now, just wait til Green leaves.

You don’t think he can develop some of these kids like Battle, Bey, Green, Stevenson and Nate Roberts etc.?

 

[cuseinseattle]

Any coach who gets fired usually has to either work his way back up the ranks or take a year or two off. No P5 school hires a fired coach right away. I think if he gets fired he probably goes to a smaller school.

Hope he turns it around but I don’t see it. With Romar, you could always point to next years class. The year he got fired I think UW had a top 5 class with Michael Porter Jr. Can’t say that about Hop, recruiting by him has been poor outside of last season.

MAybe hop should start hiring recruits fathers and paying kids